Sunday, July 21, 2013

The dime box frankenset, Page 5: Numbers 37-45

For the first time since I started this mini-series, I didn't write a frankenset post last week.

As I've found, these write-ups are great for the weekends. Which is nice, considering I don't usually have much else to post about on Saturdays and Sundays.

Our little series kicks back up with my second completed page thus far. In fact, this may well be one of the greatest pages I'll ever assemble for this frankenset. I doubt I could "upgrade" many of these beauties.

Let's take a look at the nominees.

Completion status: 9/9...completed page!

Numbers needed: None.

The card: 1995 Upper Deck #37 Pat HentgenWhy it made the cut...

It's a "pitcher at the plate", of course!

Adding to this card's beauty is the fact that Hentgen was with the Blue Jays at the time, an American League club. And, since 1995 was one of the last pre-interleague seasons, the chances of snapping a shot of an AL hurler hitting were almost nil.

As I always try to do whenever I feature a "pitcher at the plate" card, let's take a look at Hentgen's career offensive stats.

In 14 big league seasons, he racked up 84 official at-bats, most of which came during his lone season in the National League with the Cardinals in 2000. He compiled a .107 career average without ever posting a single RBI.

Not exactly your next Babe Ruth.

The card: 1973 Topps #38 Mike EpsteinWhy it made the cut...
As one of many cards from '73 Topps in my frankenset binder, including Mr. Epstein was an absolute no-brainer.

Without looking at the name, I'd guess that the featured player on this particular piece was the Angels baserunner scampering back to first on a pickoff attempt. (No, I haven't a clue who that runner is.)

But, because '73 Topps is so crazy, the partially-obscured Mike Epstein is actually the subject of this particular piece.

How can you not love this set?

The card: 1996 Collector's Choice #39 Robert PersonWhy it made the cut...
Last week, I used a lazy weeknight to go frankenset hunting through my extras.

In the past, I merely tossed aside cards who didn't feature any of my many "binder guys". No matter how cool they might've been. While I love my "binder guys", everyone else deserves their time in the spotlight as well.

That's one the best parts about my frankenset, I think. It's exclusive to my non-"binder guys". I've already dug up a nice stack of frankenset nominees, cards that I'd simply tossed a side during my pre-blogger days.

This nice "autograph" shot of Robert Person is actually the one that completed the very page we're discussing today.

I doubt it'll be the last frankenset gem I'll uncover from my extras, though.

The card: 1994 Collector's Choice #40 Jack ArmstrongWhy it made the cut...

I'm partial to any card that features one of those sunflower seed buckets, as we have with Mr. Armstrong here.

Besides, the back even includes a shot of the former hurler at the plate.

While it doesn't technically feature a "pitcher at the plate", you could certainly argue for its inclusion in such a category. After all, Wickander is posing next to quite an array of hitting equipment.

And it's all brought to you by 1994 Topps.

I still think it's one of the more underrated sets Topps ever produced.

The card: 1973 Topps #42 Mike Andrews

Why it made the cut...

It seems like just yesterday I was raving about this awesome "double dip" shot.

The card: 2012 Topps Chrome #43 Desmond JenningsWhy it made the cut...
Now's a good time to bring up a little rule I've added to this whole frankenset business.

Only one incarnation of each specific card is allowed in my set. To be more specific, let's talk about Mr. Jennings here.

This nifty "play at the plate" shot was featured on Jennings's base Flagship, Opening Day, and Topps Chrome cards. And, since all of them held different numbers in their respective checklists, they'd all ideally be eligible for my frankenset binder.